Joseph Kinney

As a young boy in the early 1800s, Joseph Kinney watched the riverboats carrying people and goods throughout the country and he dreamed of being a steamboat captain. When he grew up, Joseph bought a steamboat and became its captain, moving things up and down the river. Though Joseph had many jobs, he loved being a steamboat captain most of all. He began designing steamboats and had an idea for a design that made the boats even better. Steamboats built today still use Joseph Kinney’s design.